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NBA PM: Bazemore Weighs Free Agency Options

Brooklyn Nets big man Mason Plumlee talks about the drama surrounding Jason Kidd’s departure, playing for new head coach Lionel Hollins, participating in the Orlando Summer League and more.

Bazemore Weighs Free Agency Options

Some players enjoy going through free agency – being courted, hearing from multiple teams and weighing their options. Other players can’t stand the fact that their future is up in the air and they just want the process to end as soon as possible.

Unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore, who spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, falls into the latter category. While his name has come up quite a bit in the early stages of free agency since he has received interest from 10 teams, he is just looking forward to signing his name on a dotted line and moving on with his NBA career.

“It’s really testing my patience; it’s been a little nerve-racking,” Bazemore told Basketball Insiders. “Everyone is trying to make room for LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony so guys like myself, we have to wait patiently to see if they have enough room to even get us on the roster or offer us some money.”

While Bazemore is looking forward to ending this process, he does appreciate that so many teams have been in contact with his camp.

Bazemore has meetings scheduled with the Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, and has been contacted by the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. Considering he knows what it’s like to be on the outside of the league looking in after being undrafted in 2012, he isn’t taking the interest for granted.

“That’s been the thing that’s kept me from jumping off a bridge,” Bazemore said with a laugh. “It’s real gratifying. Being undrafted, making the summer league team and playing down in the D-League has actually paid off. The work I’ve put in on those levels – the D-League and summer league – has definitely opened a lot of teams’ eyes. It was an unfortunate situation for myself with Golden State, I did make the team, but they were so guard heavy. My first year with Jarrett Jack, Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson], Harrison [Barnes] and even Draymond [Green] playing some three and then the next year they brought in Andre Iguodala, the minutes weren’t there. I was fortunate enough to go down to LA, where there were a lot of minutes out there on the floor and I was able to kind of show [what I can do]. All that I’ve been through has definitely paid off.”

In Los Angeles, Bazemore made the most of the opportunity he was given. He was acquired by L.A. at the trade deadline in exchange for Steve Blake, and thrived when given minutes. In 23 games, he averaged 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 28 minutes per game. Prior to tearing a tendon in his right foot late in the season, he had emerged as a significant contributor for the Lakers.

The Lakers have met with Bazemore’s camp since free agency started and expressed some interest in re-signing him. When asked if he’d be open to returning to the Lakers, Bazemore didn’t hesitate.

“Sure,” Bazemore said. “With Kobe [Bryant] coming back, one of the greatest players to ever touch the ball, I could learn a lot from him. That’d be great. I learned so much from Steve Nash and Pau Gasol last season, just being out there playing with them. If I made a mistake, they would be quick to pull me to the side and say, ‘Hey look, this is what you should of done’ or, ‘This what you should look for.’ Those guys have a track record where have played in the big games, they’ve been to the Finals, they’ve won championships, so it would be great to play with a guy like [Kobe], who is very demanding. A lot of people give Kobe a bad rap because he is very demanding, but with a guy like that, I’m all ears. This is a guy who knows how to win. He has a different method of getting his point across to you, but it’s within the context of the game, and I’ll do anything to get better. I’d love to return to that franchise, but we’ll see how things shake out.”

Bazemore speaks very highly about his time in Los Angeles, donning purple and gold.

“The swagger and the prestige of that franchise, that organization, speaks for itself,” Bazemore said. “They have the second-most championships in the NBA, all the greats on that wall in the back and then actually being able to share a locker room with my childhood favorite player Kobe Bryant, it was an amazing experience. To be able to run up and down with the Laker logo in the middle of floor, it was crazy. I remember staying up to 1 a.m. watching those games late at night on the East Coast as a kid. Then to actually be playing on that court, scoring baskets, it was [surreal]. It just so happened, my luck, that the first game we played was against the Celtics, one of the greatest rivalries of all-time, and I had a pretty good showing, so it was great.”

As Bazemore weighs all of his options, the most important factor to him is playing time. He wants to land in a situation where he’ll be able to receive significant minutes and be compensated at a fair rate based on the market.

“Right now, I still need to play,” Bazemore said. “I only played 23 games down there with heavy minutes for the Lakers; I only averaged like six minutes with the Warriors. My [sample] size is very small. I just need a chance to prove myself again, so minutes are definitely the first thing I’m after. Everything else is just basketball. You hear a lot of guys talking about the bad cities of the NBA and all of that, but a guy like me, I just want another opportunity to go out there and show that I can really be a great player in this league.

“For me, the biggest thing is we just want to have leverage. We want to make this team offer more than the last and see if the situation is going to be different as far as minutes. One team may be planning to give us a lot of minutes with less money and vice versa. You never know. My agent Austin Walton will gather everything, gather all the pros and cons for each team, which he is very good at, and we’ll sit down and figure it out. Like I said, the biggest thing for me right now is just being able to play. That definitely comes before everything else.”

In recent days, fellow free agent shooting guards like Jodie Meeks and C.J. Miles have received lucrative contracts, and Bazemore could be next in line to get paid. He has shown that he can be very productive when put on the floor, and he has a reputation around the league for being an excellent teammate and outstanding individual in the community. Every team could use a player like Bazemore, who is willing to do anything he can to help his team win when he’s on the court and completely supportive of his teammates.

“I bring energy, effort and I do all the things that other guys are hesitant to do like guard the best player, dive on the floor, all the little things,” Bazemore said. “I’m a great person in the community and I like to bring some fun to the games. I like to make it as fun as possible. I want the fans to get kind of a hands-on experience. I’m always out in the community, doing different stuff just so they can know me more. I want them to be like, ‘Hey, that’s my friend Kent’ instead of, ‘That’s No. 6 for the Lakers’ or whatever team I end up going to, so when good things happen to me they can feel a part of it. Community outreach is something I really hang my hat on.”

But for now, Bazemore waits. He has meetings with teams throughout this week, but he understands that he likely won’t be able to finalize an agreement until the big-name players like James and Anthony make their much-anticipated decisions.

“The water stops running for a reason – they’re arguably the best players in the league and it’s a very big decision,” Bazemore said. “LeBron choosing so late last time, leaving Cleveland, I’m almost certain he didn’t take long on purpose – there’s just a lot of things that go into it. When you go to meet a team, I’m sure they show you who they’re going after and [the stars] can probably weigh in on who they want on their team, and it’s a lot of things that go into it. At the end of the day, when you do choose your team, you want the best thing for you. For me, it would be minutes. For LeBron, he wants to win a few more championships. It’s a lot of factors that go into it; they’re just taking their time. With things like that, they can’t make rash decisions or go through this quickly. I understand it.”

Even though Bazemore is receiving plenty of interest on the open market, he says the chip on his shoulder isn’t going anywhere after being overlooked for much of his life.

“This is second nature to me,” Bazemore said. “Growing up, I wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. When I got to college, I used to be the last person picked my red-shirt year; I went from the last person picked and then when I left I was the guy picking the teams. It’s always been a journey for me as far as proving people wrong and leap-frogging people every year. The NBA ranked players my first year in the league, and I was number 499. Then, I jumped 167 spots to 332. Things like that are what I really hold onto. I let my game do the talking. I could easily walk around and say, ‘Hey, I’m underrated and ya’ll think I’m sorry or ya’ll aren’t giving me the respect I deserve,’ but you just have to go out there and show people why you should be talked about as one of the best in the league. I just work hard and let everything else take care of itself.”

Bazemore has no timetable to make his free agency decision, but he’s looking forward to ending the process as soon as possible.

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